General information Location: USA Sunshine hours (yearly average): - Type of project: Private residential Type of application: Pole mounted trackers Time for design process: 6 months Time for construction: 6 weeks Realization: - [ Top ] Description Solar Design Associates designed a field of “Electric Sunflowers” for a private client, providing solar-generated electricity to a 750-acre vineyard which includes a main house, guest house, property manager’s house, a number of accessory buildings, and substantial irrigation loads. The project consists of 36 custom dual-axis azimuth trackers holding 4 BP Solar MSX 240 modules each. The frames are bolt togetherpowder coated aluminum with a steel torque tube. Solar Design dealt with a steep hill that had subsidence issues, a broken module, which was replaced, and weather related installation delays. There are also reliability issues with the tracking mechanisms, which have required more maintenance than expected. [ Top ] System characteristics PV system power: [-] kW Type of building integration: - Type of cell technology: BP Solar MSX 240 Module dimensions: - Array dimensions: - Inverters: Manufacturer: Omnion Power Engineering [ Top ] Project cost breakdown Not for publication. [ Top ] Performance characteristics The system is producing pretty much as anticipated. [ Top ] Project team For this project, Solar Design Associates provided the entirety of the design, engineering and construction services on a turn-key basis. Client: Private, not for publication Project architects: Solar Design Associates Design: Solar Design Associates Engineers: Solar Design Associates Contractor: Solar Design Associates PV manufacture: BP Solar [ Top ]